GENERAL BOOTH AT TIMARU.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2883, 19 October 1895, Page 4

GENERAL BOOTH AT TIMARU.

At the meeting in Timaru on Wednesday evening the Theatre was crammed. The General started by giving a brief sketch of the foundation and progress of the Salvation Army, from the time when. 30 years ago, the ganeral and whole staff of officers, and the whole army of soldiers " stood under one hat, aud he was the man that wore it," to the present day, when the army is represented in 45 different countries and colonies, preached in 35 different languarcs, controlled l.y 11,600 staff and field officers withdrawn entirely from other employments, and supporting 26 newspapers in 15 language*, with a circulation of 850,000 copies a week. Iu bis early days, he explained, he was a superhti e'y good Methodist, and he was a Methodist still; but he cared little for methods, lie described how he sought a parish and work in London, and foun > i ne amidst a mil,ion who within a nar ow radius of wretched - liens seemed to have no oil') to care for them, pnysioally or spiritually. He mentioned some of the results of his investigations into tho poverty, misery, and crime of London, whMi led him to the publication of "In Darkest England," and stating t.at a state of thin, sas bat exist iu so e of tho arreat cities in America and as bad in degree if less in quantity even iu M"l----bourne. He uttered a warniur that th same evils are ueiriiii.'' ' '. t show thems lvi sin New Z :alaiul, Lin ;.' i • jr. f. bu'ny worklessness. lie ■ e■.•rihed the army of •• tramps " in the States and Canada, and Au-tralia. He recited some painful scenes I'roui .-111 n Jiff, ami described the noble work of the girls who aet us " slum otli'.'cr*," eavinj; the f ll.n ;n they get opportunity AH he a.-ked lor I'aUen humanity \va-< t:ie treatment appfed to ih ; fallen cabhorse help to net ou its legs again —- whether drunkards, harlots, or criminals. if e v/as severe on tho puuctidioii'. pudish, very mock-m/nost, la des who scorn a fallen sister, reminding them frhafc his Master made Mary Magdalen one of the brightest saints. Of the crinii- al classes their experience snowed that 75 per cent, at least were anxious to reform, and a striking example was giv'KU of a man of 60, who had sp<; t 40years iu yraol. and ha 1 been whipp-'d a.itin and aj>a:n tiieru because ho whouli n it work, and who was n.nv, i.-ln-ks to his having been tak. u in haul by en, 4 Ili; :' ; not only a convi.-r cd bur, i.j.iustrious man, (•a. nin ,' Lrs li*. in ..' lioij' -tly. an i .-.trivhiLr t'o '••nilJ his ol : co '■t>:*l)ion-> into t:>c btt-r .vmv. I ,-!■ i:. nt.iily to t,Lii' example the Ccmrui .;,;(•-o >•-■■ jr..-! si orn of the t-dk of the' •■ brot.iei oo ; of mi.rj,'' wueu. a- it so Often does it means broih r .»u -./if I: \ ■:■■<:■

Wi'O can helpoil" to " ..et, on '' A- he .... uert-t od it it meant the n< i hbourJi- es- or :,hc Good Samaritan. if ids hearers i?i u. rajlv ci.ul i not t'icm.-'elves do t.'ic G .od ejunuji-an bu-iness the Army was pivj.arc.l to Uu it foi t. em. but tney mi • lit trivi: he twopenee- indiscriminate chanty he -t, o'.idy . on lemin-d. A plan must hi: thought out '..nd scientifically applied, and the p uu a.iopted by tli ; Army, in their feeling and lodging of thousands day a fair day and night after night, was to make

them pay all the expenses as near as maybe. They gave a child a meal for a farthing, and an adult a meal for two farthings. There wag not much roast turkey about it, but it was substantial, a good one, or two farthings' worth. The same principle was applied in the night shelters ; in one alone 8000 of th • poorest and most wretched people are warm-sheltered under one roof, and are given some pleasure, and it was hoped benefit, during- their stay. People who fell into wretchedness and misery through misfortune or accident, and were shunted out of the field of employment by a,;e, everune would admit should be assisted ; but he contended further that those who descended through misconduct should aho be helped, and " it is your own fault " should be no excuse for neglecting them. How many of them could lace the Day of Judgment on their own merits ? They must reform those who misconducted themselves, They had reformed the drunkard by hundreds and thousands, and GO per cent, of them held out. They had taken 21,000 girls off the streets, and after three years' trial 75 per cent, of them remained in the paths of virtue and industry. This work had cost them £3 lis a head, and that was a cheap price to pay for the results. Of the workless, the lower classes of them, 75 per cent, were willing to work if they could get work to do. and work must be found for them. He pictured the miserable state of the man or woman with nothing to do, and in consequence nothing else, and showed how the misery of their lives leads them to where they can get a little comfort for the smallest price, the gin palace. Worklessness makes misery. How were they to find work when there were so many workless, and the cry everywhere was that there was no work to do, no room for any more workers 1 If they could not find work then they should stop the multiplication of the race. But there was endless work to be done, land everywhere lyinsr untilled or not half tilled. In Great Britain there were 40 millions of people, and the population was increasing. In this colony there was only three-quarters of a million, and yet it was said there was not work for all. The remedy for worklessness was seen in the contrast between a wheat field and a garden, one producing little,-• the other crowded with food materials, and the difference between them was made by work. Transfer the workless to the land that needed working, and they could be happy. It was not the land but the work that produced the harvest; they would get out of land produce in proportion to the work they put into it. This was the principle of his colony scheme; putting men on land bo that they could make their own living. He was asked in South Africa where he could find a market ; and he replied that he did not want a market. " But what will you do with your produce ?" "Eat it." But the scheme must be managed wisely. The men must not be put down ani left to their own devices. They must have some capital found for them, so that they could make a fair start. The colony he proposed would not do for a man who wanted to make money; it was for the man whose highest ambition was to have plenty to eat, and a h undance of food for his wife and children. The General then gave some interesting particulars respecting the Salvation Army's Home colony in the Thames, where 4000 acres of waste have been brought to a high state of productiveness, and immensely increased in value, and in the process HOO or perhaps 600 men have been lifted &ut of the mire. His " social" scheme had cost £230,000, and he had only received £170.000, leaving a deficiency of £OO,OOO. He denied that he had come out on his present tour to collect money to make up this deficit; all the funds collected here would be devoted to social work in New Zealand ; but if anyone forced him to take money for the English colony, of course he could not help it. As for the '• over-sea colony," he had not yet made up his mind where to locate it, but he felt rather inclined to select South Africa.